Meet Our Team

Amit Elan is leading the vision of Kiyumí. He is co-director of Altered - a conference exploring psychedelic research and consciousness in Berlin. Over the last 6 years Amit worked as a facilitator with different legal psilocybin assisted retreat organisations including the Psychedelic Society UK, and led over the last decade many diverse group processes and workshops focused towards the LGBTQI+ community. He studied dance, fine Arts, Somatic Experiencing, Compassionate Inquiry© (a psychotherapeutic approach developed by Dr. Gabor Maté) and other bodywork methods. Amit is a trained Hatha Yoga teacher and traditional Thai massage practitioner. His great interest for the study of plant medicine, psychedelics, therapy and shamanism, along with the quest for supporting his autoimmune conditions (arthritis and Crohn's) is what brought him over a decade ago to research the plant world before learning with the Shipibo, Huni Kuin and Yawanawa indigenous medicine people in the Peruvian and Brazilian Amazons.

Irene Perez Méndez Irene has been working and investigating the world of plant medicines for the las 15 years, diving deep, getting hauled and coming back to center many times. She has used art-therapy as a tool and a key in this journey : Paint, movement, voice, symbolic act. Living for 5 years in the peruvian amazon, working with and learning from indigenous traditions the way of the plants : Tobacco, Ayahuasca, and other Master Plants. She always knew plants were here to teach us and felt at home with them . She loves to be at service and accompaning others in the self discovery. She is part of the spanish sangha of Tich Naht Hanh, a beautifull way to remain humble and playfull. Irene sings from her heart and love to share the songs she receives, and truly believes in the power of creativity and faith as something sacred and fuel to a life in aligment.

Públio Valle Públio is an integration therapist, yoga and meditation teacher. His initial contact with Ayahuasca in the Peruvian Amazon inspired him to do deeper investigations in Asia, where he got a degree in Yoga Therapy in India, and studied meditation in different lineages across that continent. Públio concluded Gabor Maté's Compassionate Inquiry training and is currently studying Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing approach. He has been working with plant medicines for the past 16 years, and his work is deeply grounded in the power of awareness, kindness and compassion.

Santiago Madero is a trained physician from Colombia who works as psychiatrist and therapist in Barcelona, where he is starting a center envisioned for the implementation of psychedelic assisted therapies in the future, currently implementing a ketamine assisted psychotherapy program. He has been a yoga practitioner for more than a decade and has a strong curiosity for the exploration of consciousness. Santiago understands psychedelics as tools to access non-ordinary states of consciousness that work as catalizers for manifesting our inner healing wisdom in the right setting and with the appropriate integration processes. He stands for an integrative and interdisciplinary approach where the intersection of different therapeutic modalities meet our rich cultural, philosophical and social multiplicity to conceive the best tools to relieve our emotional and physical suffering. He stands for a humane, value-oriented and ethically robust approach to care.

Daniel Hugo Miceli is a Latin American somatic practitioner dedicated to the transformative power of breath and body awareness. Drawing on lived experiences with Amazonian shamanism, Buddhism, and ancestral traditions, their approach integrates diverse healing practices. As a queer, gender-fluid advocate for social and environmental justice, Daniel embraces a holistic and inclusive approach that nurtures deeper connections and purposeful living.

Julian Bizare Her first spiritual experience was a journey with Ayahuasca in the Santo Daime tradition, in Brazil in 1995. In 2016 she started working with the Shipibo tradition and a whole new world opened up to her, the world of the plants and their sophisticated healing powers. Ayahuasca and the sacred Master Plants have been her main teachers and doctors since then. Every year Juliana immerses herself in the jungle to work closely with the Shipibo and the Master Plants in a process called Dieta. She has been working for many years now with the Lopez Sanchez family, who hold an ancestral and authentic lineage of healers in the Shipibo community.

Dr. Gabor Maté is a retired physician who, after 20 years of family practice and palliative care experience, worked for over a decade in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side with patients challenged by drug addiction and mental illness. The bestselling author of four books published in thirty languages, including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, Gabor is an internationally renowned speaker highly sought after for his expertise on addiction, trauma, childhood development, and the relationship of stress and illness. For his groundbreaking medical work and writing he has been awarded the Order of Canada.

Julian Vayne Julian is a co-organizer of the psychedelic conference Breaking Convention, and a Trustee of The Psychedelic Museum Project. A founding member of the post-prohibition think-tank Transform, Julian sits on the academic board of The Journal of Psychedelic Studies, and has been a visiting lecturer at several British universities. He is an advocate of post-prohibition culture and supporter of psychedelic prisoners through the Scales project. Julian facilitates psychedelic ceremony, as well as providing one-to-one psychedelic integration sessions and support. He is the author of the celebrated Getting Higher: The Manual of Psychedelic Ceremony. Since 2011 he has been sharing his work through The Blog of Baphomet.

Allison Creech Allison is a licensed naturopathic doctor and professor at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. With more than 15 years of experience in general naturopathic care, her current focus is on helping others create wellbeing through patterns of mind-body health. Together, she works with you to shift patterns of stress into foundations for wellbeing and conscious living. Allison has a Masters degree and PhD training in clinical psychology. She is a certified Compassionate Inquiry practitioner, and has completed both the CI Internship and Mentorship Programs. She is honoured to be able to support others as a CI Facilitator and Mentor.

Kevin Young Kevin Young is a certified professional practitioner of Compassionate Inquiry, a Compassionate Inquiry Facilitator, Compassionate Inquiry Educator and Compassionate Inquiry Circle leader. Kevin is passionate about bringing healing, compassion and connection to humanity. Kevin currently has a private practice based in Saintfield, Co. Down, Ireland and works with clients from all over the world. He is a certified mindfulness and meditation practitioner. He uses Compassionate Inquiry and mindfulness to help individuals, organisations, and charities to better understand their mental, emotional and spiritual landscapes. He brings a playful and relaxed approach to his work whilst holding a compassionate, non-judgemental and safe space for you to unveil the level of consciousness, mental climate, hidden assumptions, implicit memories and body states that form the real message that words both express and conceal. Kevin has been unemployed, employed and self-employed and has used both therapy and meditation to deal with and heal from his own life challenges.

Soraya Romao-Inglis As a trauma psychotherapist, she integrates Compassionate Inquiry, IFS (Internal Family Systems), EMDR and mindfulness practices such as kundalini yoga. She works from a multicultural compassionate lens which gives her the opportunity to explore with curiosity the presence of intersectionality in her clients' lives as well as its influences. She was born in Brazil but she has been a settler in Canada for over 20 years. As a BIPOC person, Soraya brings into her sessions the teachings received from her ancestors.

Matt Russell is a Compassionate Inquiry Facilitator and a Marriage and Family Therapist based in Sacramento California. He has trained in MAPS MDMA-Assisted Therapy, Buddhist Chaplaincy, EMDR, Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Prior to becoming a therapist, Matt earned a PhD in Spanish Literature from the University of California Davis, where he researched intergenerational trauma in Spain. He has spent over three years living in Spain, France and Mexico, and has taught at various universities. Matt participated in one of the first legal psilocybin-assisted retreats in Jamaica and he has been involved in the psychedelic community for over a decade.

Lara Longo Lara is a Compassionate Inquiry Founding Facilitator and Practitioner. As a psychotherapist and trauma therapist, her approach to therapy is informed by Compassionate Inquiry, integrating several trauma therapy modalities including EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), somatic therapy, trauma sensitive yoga and meditation, Art Therapy and ancient wisdom teachings. Lara supports clients through a range of challenges and concerns (emotional, mental, relational, and spiritual) and has a special interest in the treatment of complex and intergenerational trauma with adults. Lara has worked alongside Indigenous community since 2007 as a helper and therapist, her approach to psychotherapy has been strongly influenced by these connections. Lara is passionate about personal change and awareness; this intention forms the foundation of her work with clients and community.

Dr Vimalasara (Valerie) Mason-John M.A is a founding facilitator of Compassionate Inquiry, and is the author of 10 books, including the award winning book Eight Step Recovery, Using The Buddha's Teachings to Overcome Addiction, and Detox Your Heart, Meditations for Emotional Trauma. They work as a public speaker in the field of Mindfulness for Addiction and Trauma. They work online and in person between Canada, USA, UK and Spain.

Marieke Starker is a plant-based cook who currently works as a private chef for the artist studio of Katharina Grosse. She is also a co-director of Berlin Witch Kitchen - a collective that combines her craft of cooking with the visual art installations of Rachel McCollum to create special multi sensory experiences that leave a longer impression. Marieke has been passionate about food from a very young age which eventually led her to share with others, and as a chef now she is focused on creating seasonal dishes which are nutritious, delicious and good for your over all wellbeing, as well as being a treat to the eye! As a result of struggling with food intolerances for a big part of her life, she has learned to cook in a variety of ways, and can cater to almost anyone’s needs. Limitations are at the root of creativity, and has led to experimentation with a wide array of ingredients over the last few years, and a special love for fermentation and food which is good for your gut health is now a central part of her cooking.

Sophie Duola is a Berlin-based creative designer & art director specialized in visual art, graphic design & illustration. The idea behind her work is to create a playground: to modulate, assemble; to be meticulous, but to also be fluid and open to the undefined. Her intention is to represent ideas, sensations, and feelings and to communicate them in a visual aspect, through the experimentation of forms, lines and colors.

Vicky Wizenberg is a psychologist and social psychologist with expertise in human resources and interpersonal relations. Additionally, Vicky serves as an aerial acrobatics instructor and photographer, passionately believing in the power of movement and creativity to foster connections through mindful existence.